A Dragon Curve is any part of a group of self-similar fractal curves which can be approximated through recursive methods. More precisely it is the Heighway Dragon, which was first investigated by NASA physicists John Heighway, Bruce Banks, and William Harter, that appears in the novel “Jurassic Park” as the iterations illustrated between certain chapters of the book. It is because of this, that the Heighway Dragon Curve has since gained the nickname the “Jurassic Park dragon”. The iterations are divided into seven parts, each depiction more complex than the last. This particular Dragon Curve, which were depicted in the form of iterations, were the models used by mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm when approached by John Hammond, the man behind Jurassic Park to model the system at Jurassic Park. Ian Malcolm’s models for the Park appeared in a phase-space shape format on a computer screen and were described as “a weird twisted ship’s propeller.” by Jurassic Park’s Head Engineer, John Arnold. From these models Ian Malcolm made a prediction that the Jurassic Park systems would fail, which eventually proved to be founded.
Cited Sources:
Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1990. Print.
Cullinane, Steven H. “Death of a Classmate.” From the journal of Steven H. Cullinane… 2008 November 01-30. 11.6 (2008): n. pag. Web. 12 May. 2012.
“Dragon curve.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 May, 2012.
